On the Mend
by Tigerlily02
Summary: After recent events regarding Tony's health issues, his long-time girlfriend comes back to town. Together they embark upon the art of mending, and discover that no matter how broken one might be, there's always someone out there. Whether it's a family, a team, or a partner; you're not alone. Set in season 2, right after SWAK. Tiva!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Here's what you need to know:

This story is set in season 2, right after SWAK. It will not follow the continuing storyline, meaning Twilight, Kill Ari, and every episode after that will not happen. Ziva is in it, but she's not a part of the team.

I'll use Jenny as director in later chapters, because I don't really know much about the guy who was director before her, and Kate's not dead.

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

"Promise to call if you need anything, okay?" Abby gave him a light hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"And by anything, she means _anything_," Kate said smirking, but Tony was too tired to understand the double meaning. "Take care, Tony, okay?" She followed Abby's example and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. He nodded, and they left him in his apartment.

He locked the door, walked into his bedroom and laid down on the king – size bed. He felt like hell, literally. It was understandable, seeing that he'd just survived pneumonic plague and been admitted to the hospital for only three days. It wasn't the hospital's fault, though. He'd decided, all by himself, that he wanted to go home, telling Gibbs he missed his belongings. He knew Gibbs would buy it, after all, he was Anthony DiNozzo, and if anyone could think, and miss, their flat screen while recovering from a deathly disease, it would be him. But even Tony could set his priority's right. He hadn't discharged himself from the hospital because of the flat screen.

Tony rolled over on his stomach and reached for his phone, groaning. The movement had caused a lot of pain, but hopefully it was all worth it. He flicked through his contact list and stopped when he reached the bottom of it. Should he do it? Should he really bother her with this? It was not like he was dying or anything. He missed her. He missed her so much, but should he do it? He decided not to, she was probably busy anyway. Who knew what she was doing right know? Except her father, that was.

He rolled over again, groaning once again, and began to think. Maybe he should call Abby and Kate, and make them spoil him. _No,_ he thought. _That would be betraying our friendship._ The old Anthony DiNozzo wouldn't have thought about it twice. He would've called his colleagues, and made they work their asses off to help him get well. This new Tony wouldn't even argue with himself about the topic. Betraying and lying was wrong, he realized. Maybe this near-death experience had changed him? But for the better or worse? And with that question in his head, he fell asleep.

It was still dark outside when Tony woke up several hours later. He'd though he heard a noise, but he'd clearly imagined it. He was still holding the phone in one of his hands, and the clock showed 0316.

"Oh, great." He moaned and rolled over, still experiencing a lot of pain, but he didn't care. All he wanted to do was sleep.

He'd barely closed his eyes when he heard the noise again. This time it was _not_ his imagination. His eyes popped up, and he concentrated on the sound. It originated from the front door. Judging by the sound, somebody was trying to pick the lock and break in.

Great, just what he needed. A thief. A freaking thief! He raised his upper body, and opened the top drawer on the night stand. The drawer where he hid his gun. After Kate had told him she slept with a gun under her pillow, he'd started to put his in the top drawer. He would never admitted it to Kate, because of the way her face would've lit up like Christmas morning, but keeping your gun near your bed was actually a not a bad idea.

The thief had finally managed to pick his lock and was now walking through his apartment. Strangely, he or she didn't take anything. Judging by the sound of the steps, he or she just kept walking towards his room. Tony aimed at the door frame and waited for the thief to come through it.

_Best to be prepared in case he too is armed, _he told himself.

And then, the thief made it into his room. He neither said nor did anything, he just stood in the door frame while Tony pointed his gun at him. But he didn't shoot. He waited for the other person to make the first move.

They stood like this for almost two minutes, neither of them doing nor saying anything. Both were trying to study the other person as much as possible in the darkness. Suddenly Tony felt light flow through his window. He turned his head around and watched the moon and its light. He hadn't seen it in days. When he turned back he discovered that the light had made it possible to get a glimpse of the thief's silhouette. He was about 5'7, he'd curly hair, and then he discovered he wasn't a he. He was a she. He squinted and saw her brown hair.

Then he smiled.

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><p>She followed his eyes while they were studying her. All her training had made it possible for her eyes to quickly get use to the darkness. Now was no exception. The moonlight flooded through the window, and he turned against it. She caught a glimpse of his face and winced. He did not look good. His face was pale and his eyes were red burst. He turned against her and studied her a little more.<p>

Then a smile broke onto his lips.

"You know, this has never happened before," she said smiling. "Usually I am the one pointing the gun at _you_." Though it was still dark, she could see his smile growing larger.

"Honey, you know I'm flexible, meaning I'm always up for a change." She smirked at him, and he grinned widely back.

"No offense, but what are you doing here? I thought you were on a mission." He clapped at the bed, wanting her to sit down.

"I was," she replied, moving towards him, "but I heard what happened, and came as soon as I could." He frowned.

"How?"

"How what?" She questioned confused.

"How did you know what happened?"

She sighed, "My father." She'd expected his face to grow dark, but it didn't.

"Well, for once it's good he's keeping tabs on everything and everyone." She laughed lightly.

"Yes, for once." She touched his face with her fingers and leaned over to kiss him, but stopped a few centimeters before her lips touched his.

"Why did you not call me?" She asked hurt. Why hadn't he called her?

"Didn't want to bother you," he replied. "It wasn't like I was dying or anything." She backed away from him, and he could see that he'd hurt her.

"You did not know that at the time, Tony. For all we know, you could be dead by now, if the plague had not had the suicide-trigger."

He sighed and looked into her eyes. She still had the chocolate-brown eye color he remembered so well, but her eyes were red edged. She'd been crying. She didn't usually cry.

"I'm sorry," he said, and placed an arm around her shoulders. "I really am, but I also know how much you love working without being interrupted. I didn't want to disturb you, 'cause of the risk it could've been. You could've been killed if you were distracted." He wasn't trying to blame it all on her; he was simply trying to explain the situation.

Before he could blink, he was nailed down on the bed. He cried out in paint, and every muscle in his body was screaming, but it wasn't much he could do. She sat on top of him, satisfied by the pain she'd caused.

"You think that hurt?" She leaned closer to him. "It will be ten times worse if you use my job as an excuse_ ever_ again." He moaned something incomprehensible, but agreed.

"And yes, I do _like_ working without interferences, but I _love _you." She smiled, and leaned closer to him. He lifted his head, and their lips met in a kiss.

When they finally broke apart, he looked into her warm, brown eyes and smiled. Then he said what he'd longed to tell her for the past week.

"I love you too, Ziva."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews I received from the last chapter! Also, thank you for adding the story alert/favorite story list!

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<br>**  
>When Tony woke up the next morning, he struggled to remember why he wasn't in the hospital with Dr. Brad Pitt and Nurse Emma. Then, the memories about how he'd discharged himself became clear. There was another memory too, but it couldn't be real. There was no way Ziva had come back. He rolled around to check if it'd been a dream or if it was real. His bed was empty, except him. He sighed, and felt the tears burning in his eyes. He swallowed hard, and blinked them away. Anthony DiNozzo did <em>not <em>cry over a dream. He thought back at the dream. It'd seem so real. Ziva kissing him and telling him she loved him. And there was something else too, something about a thief breaking in.

Tony sprang up. It was not without pain. He ran out of his bedroom and into the living room, noticing everything he walked by. Everything looked like the same as he'd remembered it and nothing had been stolen. He breathed breathes of relief and went back to bed.

He must have fallen asleep again, because the loud sound of his cell calling woke him.

"DiNozzo," He answered tired, without looking at the caller's ID.

_"Tony," _a familiar voice in the other end greeted. Tony's eyes widened and he hit his fist into the air, triumphantly. _"I'm at the supermarket, is there something you want?"_

He thought for a minute. "Some doughnuts would be tasty." He could almost see a gin starting to form on Ziva's lips.

_"Okay, I will be back soon. Shalom." _

"Bye."

He jumped out of the bed and into the shower. He didn't want to smell like a pig when Ziva came back from the store.

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><p>She walked past the bread and tried to find out where the doughnuts were placed. She hadn't been in America in over two months, and remembering where the doughnut shelf was, with everything else going on, was hard. Out of the sudden, the shelf with doughnuts materialized in front of her. She picked out two doughnuts with pink sprinkles, and put them in a bag.<p>

"Kate, look!" A voice behind her squealed, and Ziva spun around. A woman dressed in a black t – shirt with a picture of a skull, a mini skirt, pigtails and a spider web tattoo on her neck pointed towards her. "Doughnuts!"

Another woman rounded the corner. She had brown, straight hair, and she was wearing an everyday sweater and a formal pencil skirt.

"We have to buy some!" The first woman squealed again, but the second woman looked skeptical.

"Why?" she asked, "because he's a pig?"

The first woman hit her arm. "Kate!" She hissed, "He's sick, don't be mean!"

"He's not sick, Abby!"

"Yes, he is!" The dark dressed woman, whose name was Abby, exclaimed. The two women suddenly became aware of Ziva.

"Eh … Hi," Abby stuttered, seeming a bit uncomfortable.

"I am sorry," Ziva apologized, "it was not my intention to overhear your discussion."

"It's okay," Abby smiled. "Where did you get those?" Again she pointed towards the bag of doughnuts again. Ziva moved and pointed to the shelf.

"Now if you will excuse me." And with that she left.

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><p>"How long will you stay?" Tony asked. Ziva took his plate and put it in the dishwasher.<p>

"As long as you want." she replied.

"Forever," he said dreamily, before turning serious. "But seriously, did he really gave you that much time off?" She shook her head.

"He gave me a week off, and after that I have to work at the Israeli embassy here in DC," her eyes saddened, "until I go back."

After that, she changed the subject. "So what are your plans for today?" Tony was a little surprised by the changed but went with it. "Oh, you know, relax, kiss my girlfriend, watch a movie, kiss my girlfriend, make dinner, kiss my girlfriend and you know, more kissing."

She laughed. "Sounds like a busy day. You want me to leave you alone with this girlfriend of yours?" He smiled back and pulled her onto his lap.

"Now, what fun would that be?" He asked and kissed her. Ziva returned the kiss and memories from the night popped into her head.

"I cannot believe you pointed your gun at me!" she laughed.

"Hey, I thought you were a thief!" This statement made Ziva laugh even more.

"So which movie are we going to watch?" she asked, waiting for the answer she knew would come.

"That's your choice, Sweet Cheeks." She opened her mouth, but Tony cut her off. "And no, we can _not_ watch _The Sound of Music_." Ziva rolled her eyes and let Tony choose instead.

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><p>"Pulp Fiction, again?" Ziva sighed. "Tony, you are aware of that it was last movie we saw before I left, yes?" Tony blinked startled. He'd actually forgotten about it.<p>

"Okay, what about," he searched through the bookcase filled with movies, and picked out one. "From Russia with Love," he gave the cover to Ziva before he continued. "A great James Bond movie from 1963 with Sean Connery as 007, and perfect for you."

Neither one of them paid much attention to the movie. After being apart for two months, they'd a lot of catching up to do. Talking, kissing, having sex.

"Your car was stolen?" Ziva exclaimed. She picked up her shirt, turned it the right way, yet it didn't come on. "Did you not use to work as a cop, Tony? How can you not know how to secure your own car?"

"Hey! I used to work as a cop, and there's no way you can secure a car from being stolen, besides," he defended, "you're the best officer in Mossad, and I still held a gun at you."

"Touché," she praised. "Where was it parked?"

"That's not the point," Tony mumbled. Ziva arched her eyebrow, looking expectantly at him. "Okay, Probie and I were running down a lead, and the suspect happened to be a runner. It was a sketchy neighborhood, but McGee insisted we didn't have time to lock the car. Ergo stolen."

"And why, Very Special Agent DiNozzo, were you driving your own car at work?" She moved closer, leaving a trail of kisses on his neck and jaw. "Wait, I know. You wanted to show him your car." She looked triumphantly up at him and saw the truth in his facial expression.

"Changing the subject," Tony searched in his head for events he could tell Ziva about, but his eyes – and mind – kept returning to his half naked girlfriend sitting in front of him. "We got a new director,"

"Really?" Ziva asked, "I thought you said everybody was satisfied with Director Morrow."

"We were, but he decided to take a deputy director's position at Homeland Security. Now, we got a red-headed lady director. I think Gibbs has some kind of a past with her, maybe a relationship."

"Something for you to pick your nose in," Ziva said before she rose up and gave him a light kiss.

"I think you mean 'stick your nose in', Sweet cheeks," Tony corrected, which led Ziva to roll her eyes.

"I'm taking a shower," Ziva announced and gave Tony a last kiss.

"Need some help?" He asked hopefully, knowing what she would answer.

"I am perfectly capable of showering without any help," she paused, "but thank you for offering," she gave him another kiss.

"You know, you're not the only one who smells like sex, Honey. If you were willing to cooperate, I could save some money by saving hot water."

Ziva snorted. "If you wanted to save money, you would not take a 30 minutes shower every morning."

"It takes a lot of time to get this," he pointed towards himself, "to look as good as it does."

"Sure it does," Ziva smirked. "But that," she pointed over at him, "looks pale and exhausted," she ran her fingers through his hair. "Get some rest." She ordered.

When Ziva came out of the bathroom 20 minutes later, Tony had fallen asleep on the couch. She decided not to wake him and unpacked her bag instead.

"Ziva?" She heard him call from the living room.

"Bedroom!" She called back. He came in but stopped in the door frame and studied her.

"I like this sight," he told her.

"What?" she wondered. "Me putting my clothes into your dresser?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "And that's actually your dresser. I only use the closet, remember?" She smiled and put the content in the commode.

"I do remember." Placing her last piece of clothing in the dresser, she straighten up and regarded him carefully. "Feeling any better?"

He nodded. "Yeah – you're here," she went over to him and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him, but was interrupted when somebody knocked on the door.

"I'll get it," Tony said, but Ziva grabbed his arm.

"No, you go put on a shirt. I can open." He gave her one of his dazzling DiNozzo-smiles and she responded by kissing his cheek.

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><p>"He'll be so surprised and so happy to see us!" Abby told the others. She'd convinced them to go over to Tony's to surprise him and keep him with company. The others consisted of Kate and McGee.<p>

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Abby?" McGee asked nervous. "Knowing Tony, he's not really the guy who wants unexpected visitors."

"Timmy," Abby said, almost amused, "are you saying you think Tony's having a girl over?" Kate snorted by the thought.

"No, of course not," McGee blushed and kept quiet.

"You still have the pizzas, Kate?" Abby turned and saw Kate balance the two pizzas with sausage, pepperoni and extra cheese, Tony's favorite.

"Good, everyone ready?" Abby asked, but didn't bother to wait for answers before she knocked.

A woman opened the door. She looked like she was in her early twenties, and she'd brown, curly hair, she was medium high, and she'd tanned skin. Abby and Kate immediately recognized her as the woman from the supermarket who'd showed them the doughnuts.

"Eh … Hi …" Abby said. "Is To–" she was cut off by a voice from inside the apartment.

"Who is it, Sweet Cheeks?"

Tony rounded the corner, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his colleagues outside. They were all staring at Ziva, but as they heard his steps, their attentions were drawn to him.

"Oh … Hey, guys."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Thank you SO much for all the fantastic reviews I've received! I'm glad you like my story!

Just so you know, Ari's good in this story.

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Tony came closer to the door, and put an arm around Ziva. "Please come in," he welcomed them. They walked into the living room.

"Abby, Kate, Probie, meet Ziva, my girlfriend," they shook hands. "Ziva meet Abby, Kate and Tim."

"Nice to finally meet you. Tony has told me a lot about all of you," Ziva smiled to them, causing McGee to blush, Abby to give her a hug, and Kate to roll her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell us you'd a girlfriend, Tony?" Abby asked curious and a little hurt.

"You know," Tony said, trying to come up with an explanation. "Wanted to keep my work- and personal life separated," They all met him with surprised, yet not convinced faces. Neither of them believed that story.

"What?" Tony exclaimed, not really surprised by the reaction.

"You always walk around, talking about your personal life, DiNozzo," Kate stated.

"She's right," McGee agreed. "Though it has been quiet these last months, you always talk about an amazing girl you met, or an expensive suit you bought."

Tony grinned. Neither Probie nor Kate had ever suspected that he'd been dating the same woman every time he'd talked about an amazing woman. He'd never cheated on Ziva, and he was never going to. What they had was too good to be thrown away. He loved her, and she loved him. It was like they were meant to be, if you believed in that kind of thing.

"So, how long have you been together?" Abby wondered.

"Almost two years," Tony replied.

"Tony!" Abby squealed. "You're in a committed relationship, congrats! So when and how did you guys meet?"

"We met in Edinburgh a little more than two years ago," Tony started to tell, "In Ziva's brother's wedding." He grinned to his colleagues and put an arm around Ziva.

"Come on, Tony," Abby begged excited, "tell us more!"

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><p>"<em>Dance with me, Tony," Becka begged, "please!" Tony gave in, and they found their way to the dance floor. <em>

_"This is a nice wedding," Tony said. "If I only knew whose wedding it was." _

_Becka burst into giggles, probably a bit drunk. "I love your jokes!" she told him, and he spun her around. Little did she know that he wasn't joking._

_The song finished, and they left the dance floor. "Baby, I'm just going over to say hi to Alyssa, you'll be okay alone?" He nodded, and she left. He kept her in sight as she walked up to what seemed to be the bride, Alyssa. She'd told him she was her cousin, and that she was marrying a doctor, most likely the dark-headed man standing beside her. Tony looked away and found the way to the table with the wine and the champagne._

_It'd all started with a weekendtrip with Luke, one of his frat brothers from college to Scotland of all places. And now he was attending the wedding to his just-met-and-hoped-to-get-back-to-the-hotel-girl, Becka's, cousin and her new doctor husband. What a strange turn of events._

_He grabbed a glass of red wine and took a sip, and then someone bumped into him, which made him spill wine all over his rented tuxedo shirt. A dull voice said something about being sorry and left, clearly drunk. _

_"Damn it!" Tony swore and reached for a napkin, starting to wipe his shirt in an attempt to remove the wine._

"_You will only make it worse," a female voice with an exotic, none-Scottish accent, said. Tony turned and saw a young woman with an emerald green, strapless dress which reached her just above her knees. Her hair was curly and brown and lay loosely around her shoulders, and her skin was tan. She was leaning against the table and looked mildly amused up at him._

"_How do you know?" He asked her, annoyed by the better knowing comment. _

_"I have eyes," she explained and pointed at his shirt. The wine stain was now bigger than before. He swore again, and she looked more amused. _

_"I take it you do not want to walk around it that the rest of the evening, yes? I can go and find one of my brother's shirts if you want." He accepted and followed her out of the tent where the reception was held, and into a house._

"_Here you go," she'd led him into a room with a wardrobe. "You can keep it. Ari will not notice." He thanked her, and they left the room. _

_"So I take it Ari's your brother?" he asked her as they approached the reception. She nodded. "I take it he's also the broom?" _

_"Yes." She confirmed. _

_"That would make you Miss –" he looked for the poster with the couple's name, "Haswari?"_

_"David," she corrected, "Ziva David." _

_"Nice to meet you, Ziva David, I'm Anthony DiNozzo, but you can call me Tony." They shook hands._

"_So, you are a friend of Alyssa?" Tony bit his lip. _

_"My date is her cousin or something," _

_"Oh," Ziva said a little surprised. "Where is she?" _

_Tony looked around inside the tent before shrugging. "Somewhere in here,"_

_"Perhaps she pitched you," _

_Tony frowned. "You mean ditched, Ziva. The term is ditched." _

_She rolled her eyes. "Potato, potato, same difference." _

_"No, it's not," Tony argued, unaffected whether Becka had actually ditched him or not. She was already out of his thoughts. _

"_Miss David," he held his hand toward her. "May I have the honor of this dance?" He gave her a DiNozzo-grin, and she couldn't do anything but replied the smile and the question. _

_"Yes, you may."_

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><p>"That's so cute!" Abby squealed and hugged the both of them. When she came back to her sit, she started question Ziva. "So, Ziva, you live here in DC?"<p>

"No," Ziva answered. "But whenever I am in DC, I live here."

Abby noticed her accent and nodded. "Where do you work?"

"Mossad." Ziva replied expecting the shocked glaces from Tony's colleagues.

"Mossad, _Mossad_?" Kate asked, surprised Tony was still alive.

"That is the one." Ziva confirmed.

"Oh my God," Abby suddenly squealed, "I almost forgot, we brought pizzas! Your favorite, Tony," she added before he was able to ask the question, "sausage, pepperoni and extra cheese." Tony sent her a big, thankful grin.

"So, what have I missed these last few days?" He asked McGee and Kate.

"The new director's making all this new changes, like the new dress-code." Kate said, and Abby's head shot up.

"I've something to say about that!" She exclaimed. "If I feel comfortable working in miniskirts and tees with pictures of skulls and platform shoes, I should be able to do that! It's bad enough that I've to wear a monkey-suit for court, but every day to work? Gibbs really has to talk to that woman. Who does she thinks she is?"

"The director," McGee told Abby as an answer to her question, though it was pretty obvious it was rhetorical.

"But despite the dress-code, she's okay," Kate said. "I think Shepard's better than Morrow."

"You're only saying that 'cause you're still pissed at Morrow for that time someone denied you access to a submarine." Tony said, his mouth stuffed with pizza.

"What if I am, DiNozzo?" she asked angry, "Director Shepard will make sure it's gender equality!"

"Wait," Ziva interrupted in their discussion. "Did you say your director's name was Shepard?" They all nodded.

"You know our director?" Tony wondered, but Ziva shook her head.

"No, I must have mixed it with another name."

"Look at the time," Kate exclaimed, "I have to get home!" Abby and McGee also left, after dropping a few hints they'd have to inform Gibbs about Tony's shenanigans.

"That was nice," Ziva said when they'd left. "They seem nice." She continued before he could agree. "I never knew you and Becka was not serious. I thought the two of you were serious, because of the way she reacted when you kissed me."

Tony smiled guilty. "Yeah, I shouldn't have done that," she raised an eyebrow. "I mean, I don't regret kissing you, I just think I should've warned her or something. That way, she wouldn't have made a scene."

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><p>"<em>What the hell do you think you're doing?" a furious female voice shrieked though the tent, casing everyone to stop what they were doing. Tony and Ziva broke apart, and watched as a furious Becka made her way towards them.<em>

"_Why the hell were you kissing that slut?" she yelled at Tony and looked evil eyed over at Ziva. _

_Ari and Alyssa made their way through the crowd and over to the fuzz. "Becka, what's going on?" Alyssa asked, clearly confused._

"_My date," she pointed at Tony, unnecessarily, and continued. "Kissed that bitch over there!" She pointed over at Ziva, also not unnecessarily. "Who the hell invited her?" she shouted._

"_We did," Ari answered calmly. "She's my sister." Becka's face turned pale, and she looked from Ari to Ziva and back to Ari again. _

_"Oh," She didn't know what to say and went with the previous strategy again. "She kissed my boyfriend!" _

_That was Tony's hint. "We're not together," he said quietly. "Besides, I've only know you for the last five hours or so." Becka's face turned from white to red, and she ran out. Samuel, the drunken guy who'd bumped into Tony was the only one who followed her._

_Ari came closer and muttered something to Ziva in Hebrew. "I'm not a child!" She told him, annoyed and dragged Tony away from her brother. _

_"What did he say?" Tony wondered. _

_Ziva rolled her eyes, and brushed it off with a "nothing". _

_"You're from Israel?" Tony half guessed, half asked from her ability to understand Hebrew. This time – fascinated. _

_"Yes," Ziva replied and arched an eyebrow at him. "Is that a problem?" _

_Tony shook his head. "No, not at all," he assured her _"_It's perfect." _

_And then he kissed her again._

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><p><strong>What do you think?<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters. **

I realized, with help from anna284 (thank you!) that you guys might me a little confused by the last chapter. Let me clear some things up for you:

This story is AU, and it's set after SWAK. The terrorist in Bête Noire and Reveille was not Ari, but another random terrorist who was killed by Gibbs. The team has never met Ari.

I hope that cleared up some things for you!

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><p>Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. This chapter is for you!<p>

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

A week had gone by faster than they'd imagined. Ziva had begun to work at the Israeli Embassy, and Tony had, because of the lack of social contact and lack of something to do, gone back to work.

"I'm tellin' you, Ziva," he said one night, "if I see another paper stack on my desk tomorrow, I'm gonna freaking kill somebody!" He buried his head in a couch cushion and thought about who to kill.

Abby? No way, she's like a sister to him, and probably much more capable of killing him than the other way around. Beside, Gibbs would kill him dead if he even mentioned it.

Kate? Maybe. Ms. Know-It-All could be pretty annoying at times, and mean too. But what could he expect with him as a partner?

McGee? Probie? No way. It wasn't fair to the club of computer geeks. And the little muscled, but big brained kid would tell Abby, who would kill him and leave _no _forensic evidence.

Gibbs? That would have the same effect as jumping of an airplane without a parachute. The ground would go easier on him than Gibbs would.

Director Shepard? No. She somehow had a connection to Gibbs.

Ducky? No.

Palmer? The autopsy gremlin? Maybe. He could cover it up by saying …

Ziva interrupted his thoughts. "Why can you not just ask Gibbs to let you go into the field with them?" she said like it was the easiest thing in the world.

Tony looked skeptical over at her. "Have you met Gibbs?"

"Actually, I have not," she replied, "but I am sure he is not as bad as you make him."

"Enough about my day," Instead of continuing the discussion, Tony changed the subject. Ziva had not met Gibbs, ergo she didn't know what he was like. "How's your day, sweetheart?"

She was not impressed by the pet name. "It was fine," she said.

"Made any new friends?" he joked. "You know, if you were a little nicer to people, you might make some friends at the Embassy." His witty comment made her punch his arm, and he held both his hands up in submission.

"Tony, I know the people who work at the Embassy, but I do not consider them my friends." She explained to him and gave him a quick kiss before she got up. "I am going to bed."

She was about to leave, but he grabbed her arm. "I'm coming with you."

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><p>"Well, don't you look tired this morning," Kate commented when Tony eventually arrived at the office the next morning. "Rough night?"<p>

Tony threw his gear behind his desk, saw the big stack of files on his desk, sat down and leaned his head against it.

"Trouble in paradise?" Kate asked. "Has she's finally seen the real DiNozzo?"

He chose not to answer that.

"Or maybe," Kate continued, "she met one of your previous girlfriends, and decided she didn't want to be another one of your conquests."

Suddenly it became very appealing to throw his Mighty Mouse stapler across the bullpen. And accidentally hit Agent Todd in the process.

"You know, DiNozzo," Kate said in a different, almost repentant tone. "If you need a shoulder to cry on, McGee's always available." Her voice cracked, and she started to laugh.

"What about me?" a new voice asked. Tony looked up and found McGee entering the squad room with a fresh cup of coffee.

Tony decided to answer him before Kate got the chance to. "Katie was just telling me how she's into you, Probie, and if I knew if you were seeing someone or not," he smirked at Kate. "I told her you were seeing someone. You're welcome." He winked at the junior agent.

"Yeah, that's it," Kate said sarcastically. "I'm completely and absolutely in love with McGee. I want to marry him and have his children." An impressive eye rolling followed her statement.

"Rule 12," someone grumble behind them. They all turned and saw Gibbs as he made his way out of the elevator. "Never date a co-worker."

"I was joking." Kate assured him.

"Are you saying you don't wish to marry Probie, Kate?" Tony asked, his voice filled with false shock. McGee on the other hand seemed highly uncomfortable about the whole subject. She didn't get a chance to answer.

"Got a dead marine at Quantico, grab your gear!" Gibbs ordered, and the three of them did as he said. Tony was about to walk out of the squad room, when Gibbs blocked his way.

"DiNozzo, where do you think you're going?"

"To Quantico," Tony replied and met Gibbs' glare. "Boss, I can't stay here while you guys are out there. It's driving me nuts!" Gibbs nodded and moved out of the way, so Tony came through.

"Well, then try _not _to get yourself killed again."

* * *

><p>"How's Ziva?" McGee asked as they drove. Gibbs had decided to drive with Ducky and Palmer, which left Tony, Kate and McGee in the car.<p>

"She's fine," Tony replied, "just peachy."

"Has she broken up with you yet?" Kate wondered, taking up her guessing game from earlier.

"No, she _hasn't_." Tony answered clearly annoyed.

"You know, Tony," Kate started, but he cut her off.

"If you're gonna continue to criticize my relationship with Ziva, Kate, keep your mouth shut, it makes you sound jealous." The comment shocked her.

"Well," she said angry, "I was just gonna tell you how proud we all are of you for being in a committed relationship, but I guess I have to _keep my mouth shut_!" Silence followed her exclaim.

"Eh, guys," McGee said, trying to break the awkwardness. "We're here." They got out, but didn't talk or look at each other.

"DiNozzo – pictures, McGee – witness' statements, Kate – bag and tag," Gibbs ordered, "And hurry up, it looks like it's gonna rain soon."

They all began working. Kate found things, and Tony took pictures of it before she bagged it.

"Kate," he tried to contact her, but she pretended she didn't hear him. "Kate," he said again, still without a response. "Kate!" This time he sat his foot down on some garbage she was about to pick up, forcing her to look at him.

"I'm sorry," he told her, "I shouldn't have implied that you were jealous, and I shouldn't be mad about you giving me crap about my relationship. After all, you did learned from the best." The last part made her snort and smile doubtingly.

"You wish, DiNozzo," she answered skeptical, and just like that everything was back to normal.

* * *

><p>"Who's presenting?" Gibbs asked. They'd arrived back at the Navy yard hours ago, and now they'd gathered information on their victim.<p>

"Petty Officer Wilson, age 30, stationed at Quantico, normal bank records and phone records – nothing that stands out. CO said he was a hard-working officer who got along with everyone. He also said our Petty Officer requested leave for five days from tomorrow to visit his sister and niece in Montana." McGee finished.

"Motives?"

"Not that we've found," Kate replied, "he'd normal finances – didn't buy more that he could afford, didn't have any debt, not a lot of money, no wife or children. There's no reason to kill him."

"Suspects?"

"We'd three men who'd been seen lurking around his house by neighbors, but they all have waterproof alibis – multiple witnesses and security footage," Tony explained.

"So we got no motives or suspects?" Gibbs asked, not particularly happy.

"It looks like you have hit a dead wall." someone behind them said. They all spun around and found, surprisingly, a soaking wet Ziva standing there.

"The term is end – hit a dead end." Tony corrected and watched his girlfriend roll her eyes.

"Sorry, I did not mean to interrupt," she apologized and watched their surprised faces.

"It's fine," Tony assured her. "What are you doing here?" he asked in a voice filled with astonishment, it felt déjà vu from the first night.

"I have a meeting with Director Shepard," Ziva explained, "and I wanted to see you." He gave her a big DiNozzo grin and approached her.

"You should've called me, I would've picked you up. That way, you wouldn't be dripping." He leaned down and kissed before he let her answer.

"I did not want to interrupt you; you were out in the field." She smirked, and he recalled using almost the exact same excuse.

As an attempt not to bring up their discussion from a week before, Tony kissed her again. And again. He'd completely forgotten about the three other people in the squad room who were watching them. Gibbs cleared his throat, and Tony and Ziva broke apart.

"DiNozzo, introductions." he barked.

"Oh, right," Tony said, "Gibbs, meet Ziva – my girlfriend," Gibbs and Ziva shook hands. "Ziva, you remember Kate and McGee, right?"

She nodded and gave them a 'shalom'. They replied with a 'hi'.

"So, Ziva," Kate started, "you said you were here to meet Director Shep–"

"Ziva!" A female voice exclaimed from the stairs, and previous mentioned Director Shepard walked fast down the stairs.

"Shalom, Jen," Ziva greeted her, and the two women kissed each other on both cheeks.

"How are you?" Jenny asked her, "and what are you doing in America?"

"I am well. I am here visiting," she explained. "How are you?"

Jenny answered her, before turning to the now confused team.

"Special Agents Gibbs, McGee, Todd and DiNozzo, meet Ziva David." Jenny had clearly missed their earlier exchange of greetings.

"We've already met Ms. Da-veed," Gibbs told Jenny, and stretched out Ziva's surname. "She happens to be DiNozzo's girlfriend."

His statement shocked Jenny, and she turned and examined Ziva. "I see a lot has changed since I last saw you," she said, "come on, let's talk in my office."

* * *

><p>The loud music from Abby's lab made Tony, Kate, McGee and Gibbs cover their ears with their hands.<p>

"Abby!" Gibbs yelled. She spun around, saw them and turned down the sound.

"Hi, guys," she exclaimed, "did you know that queen wasps survive the winter while every other wasps die? And that they're the ones building the wasp nest during the spring? At least until the worker wasps are hatched. And then the winter comes, and all the wasps except the queen die again, and –"

"Abs!" Gibbs shouted and interrupted her, "did one of your beloved wasps kill our victim?"

"Gibbs!" Abby exclaimed shocked, "I do_ not_ love wasps! They're creepy and mean! They sting people, but –"

Gibbs interrupted her again. "But what?"

"Ducky examined the body, and his conclusion was that the victim died from anaphylactic shock. He took a blood sample, and I ran some tests and it turns out – drum roll," Tony made a drum roll on the evidence table. "Our victim was killed by, like you guessed – a wasp!"

The four agents looked doubtingly at her. "He must have been very allergic." she explained before she looked around.

"Gibbs!" she cried, "I just solved the case, and you didn't bring me a Caf-Pow?" He kissed her cheek and asked her to check the fridge. She did and saw a fresh Caf-Pow inside.

"I don't know how you do it, but I'm gonna find out!" She turned to face the team, but they were already gone. "I hate when they do that!" She exclaimed, and took a sip of the Caf-Pow.

* * *

><p>Tony was doing paperwork again. After they'd, or more correct Abby had, solved the case, Gibbs had ordered them to catch up on paperwork. He had resisted his urge to kill somebody, and was soon finished.<p>

"That was not so bad, yes?" a familiar voice asked him. His head shot up, and he found Ziva leaning against his desk.

"Your meeting's over?" he guessed, choosing not to answer her question.

"Yes," she said and leaned over for a kiss. He kissed her back, but became suddenly aware of the glares from Kate, Gibbs and McGee.

"Sorry, Boss," he said, not really feeling regret. "Can I drive Ziva home, so she won't get soaked?"

Gibbs nodded, before adding "be back in one hour."

Tony grabbed his keys, phone and gun and walked towards the elevator with an arm around Ziva.

"Ms. David!" someone called after them. Ziva turned and saw Cynthia, the directors assistant, receptionist and part-time MTAC Tech, standing at the top of the stairs.

"Yes?"

"We've a call for you in MTAC," Cynthia explained. Everyone in the squad room payed attention.

"From who?" Ziva questioned nervous, having an idea about who it might be.

"Director David," Cynthia said and confirmed Ziva's suspicion.

"Director of what?" Gibbs broke in, trying to understand the conversation he was clearly being left out of.

"Mossad," Tony answered. "Director of Mossad."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or anything related to it.**

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but as you know – I've had a writer's block.

Thanks to those awesome ideas I received. I've used some of them and saved the rest for later! Also thanks to all those amazing reviews I received for the last chapter. Also thanks to those who read it. You're the best!

I decided to give you guys an extra long chapter. I've been working on this all day, and it's the longest I've ever written, so hope you'll like it!

This beginning of this chapter takes place later the same day the last chapter ended. I know it's a little confusing at first, but it get's clearer, I promise.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

"Do you ever think about quitting your job?" Ziva sat at a bar-chair in Tony's kitchen studying her hands. She continued doing this after she asked him the question, and didn't see the look he sent her which was filled with pain and sympathy.

"Not really," he replied. "Why? Do you want me to?"

She shook her head. "No, not at all. Just curious," she moved her attention from her hands and over at him, but Tony'd turned around continuing to prepare their food. "Gibbs seems nice." Ziva said out of the blue, causing Tony to snort.

"I don't think 'nice' is the right word, sweetheart," he told her. "More like …" he didn't come up with anything and ended with simply saying; "Boss." This made her laugh.

"You never told me McGee was a hacker," she accused, still laughing. "What does Jen think of that?"

"Huh, you think Gibbs chose Probie to join our team 'cause of his big muscles?" A rhetorical question. "And I don't think _Jen_ knows he's hacks into MTAC, CIA, FBI and whatever," he said, putting extra pressure on _Jen_. "Unless she's read his file, that is." This time, Ziva snorted.

"Why do you think they hacked into MCAT?" she asked him, knowing he probably didn't knew the answer.

"I'm pretty sure you mean MTAC," Tony started. "And honestly; I don't know. Maybe wanted to see the Director, or maybe they're just curious what he wanted."

"I know I was."

"Me too."

He handed her a plate with something she recognized as some sort of pasta, and sat down besides her. She shoved the food around on the plate, not eating despite the good-looking appearance.

"I cannot believe he has someone spying on me," she said angry. "I'm not a child!"

"He's your father, Ziva. He's just worried about you." When she heard him defend her father, Ziva turned her anger against him.

"Why are you defending him? He's sending me away! And you know just as well as I do; he's not worried, he is a control-freak. He always needs to know everything, even when it's none of his business!"

"I know, I know …" he searched for the right words, something that could calm her down, but when he didn't found them and instead spilled his thoughts for her. "But it's your job."

Judging by her expression there wasn't much he could've said that would be worse.

"Do you not think I know that, Tony? I know I have to do it, even though I do not want to. I know I there is no choice!" She jumped down from her chair and was about to leave the room, but he caught her sleeve and pulled her into a hug. She didn't resist, instead she rested her head against his chest. They stood like this for some time. He; comforting her and telling her everything would be alright, and she; listening to his voice and slowly starting to believe his words.

Everything was going to be alright, despite what Eli David had ordered Ziva to do.

* * *

><p>Ziva turned against Tony with shock and astonishment written all over her face. "How did he know …" she started, but answered her own question. "Bashan."<p>

Officer Michael Bashan was a Mossad Officer working at the Israeli Embassy in DC. He and Director David spoke often, and Eli had definitely asked Bashan to spy on Ziva whilst she was there. But Bashan was getting old. He must have had one of his subordinates to do the job for him.

"Tell him I will be there in a minute." she told Cynthia who nodded and went back to MTAC.

"Your boss's checking up on you while you're on vacation," Kate said. "Either he's a big control freak who has to know where everyone is and what they're doing, or he's giving you a new assignment," she paused for a second. "Or he cares about you."

Both Tony and Ziva chose to ignore Kate's comments. "You want me to go with you?" Tony asked and reached for Ziva's hand.

"Tony, my father does not like you very much, you know that," a smile crossed her lips when she saw his knowing expression. "Yes, I do want you to go with me."

Gibbs, Kate and McGee stared at them. Kate and McGee had known Ziva was in the Mossad, what they didn't know was that her father's the director of the agency. Gibbs, who'd just met her, had no knowledge of any of this, and the fact that Tony'd found himself a girlfriend from Mossad, shocked him.

"What do you think he wants?" Ziva asked Tony before they entered.

"Is it too much to hope he only wants to say hi?" Tony asked her back, knowing it was too much.

"Maybe he wants me to come back," Ziva suggested. "Or maybe he sends me on another mission," Tony cursed Kate. "Or maybe," her voice was almost hysterical now, "he tells me not to see you anymore, and threatens to kill you if I do not do as he wishes."

Tony pulled her into a hug and tried to calm her down. "Hey, Z, your father isn't a bad-guy," she sent him a skeptical glare and raised an eyebrow. "I mean; he wouldn't do anything that would hurt you," she looked more skeptical than before. "I mean," Tony didn't know what to say. "Listen, if he was gonna threaten us, he would've come here himself, just to make it more realistic. He wouldn't have done it through a video conference."

That made her relax, she knew he was right. If her father was going to threaten the life of the man she loved, he would've paid them a visit. "C'mon, let's go." Tony opened the door to MTAC, and she stepped inside.

The big screen in MTAC was covered by Eli David's face, desk and upper body. He was wearing a sand brown suit and brownish sunglasses.

"Ziva!" he exclaimed happy as he saw her. "And Anthony," if he was disappointed to see Tony, he didn't show it. "It's good to see you've recovered from the plague, I do not know what my Ziva would've done if you hadn't." He seemed honest and truly happy about Tony's recovery.

"Thank you, Sir." Tony said, wondering who Eli David had switched brain with.

"Shalom Papa," Ziva greeted her father, still anxious about his reason for calling. "You requested me?"

"Yes," Eli started. "Your brother –"

Ziva cut him off. "Do you have anyone following me?" Her voice was toxic and her eyes on fire.

"No Ziva, I do not." Again he seemed truly honest.

"Then how did you know I would be here?" She knew he was searching for an excuse, but you couldn't see it in his body language. She just knew her father.

"You told Officer Bashan you had a meeting with someone at NCIS." Eli explained. Ziva frowned, all she'd told Bashan was she'd to go early. No reason, and he'd accepted it.

She decided to drop the matter. At least for now. "What were you saying about Ari?"

"He has a mission in the U.S.," Eli explained. "He and a partner."

"What sort of mission?" Ziva questioned, confused by why her father was telling this to her.

"That's classified," Eli retorted whilst nodding towards Tony. "Anthony, could you step outside for a minute?"

"Sure." Tony agreed and started walking, but Ziva caught a hold of his arm and prevented him from doing so.

"Tony stays," she insisted, determined. "So, what is the mission?"

Eli David sighed by his daughter's stubbornness, but decided not to start a discussion about whether Anthony would stay or leave.

"Ari's mission is one he's be working with for some time now. The mission is to destroy a sleeper cell in LA without drawing any attention to himself or getting caught. But before he leaves for California, he's coming to DC."

Ziva's face lit up. "He is coming to DC?" she asked. "To visit?" After Tali's death, Ari was the only sibling she'd left. They'd been close before their sister's death, but had grown even closer after it. Unfortunately they didn't spend that much time together after Ari got married to Alyssa, or Ziva'd started seeing Tony and spent all the time she wasn't working in America.

Tony watched Director David's face freeze when Ziva asked if Ari was going to visit her. "Not exactly," Eli answered and started to explain in Hebrew. _"Ari has no chance of completing the mission alone, it's too dangerous. He needs a partner, a good partner. One of the best."_

"What does that have to do with me?" Ziva questioned in English, determined not to keep Tony out of the conversation, and wondering why her father would tell her all this when it was 'classified.'

Eli stared at her without saying anything, waiting for Ziva to understand the obvious. Tony looked over at her and saw her confused expression. And then her it changed to angry and shocked, and Ziva too changed language to Hebrew.

"_No!" _She cried. _"You have other officers who can do the job! You have Ben-Gideon, Levy and Amar. And what about Ari's partner – Yosef?"_

"_Yosef was killed in Germany, and none of the others are as good as you. You know you're the best, Ziva." _She rolled her eyes. This was her father's way of trying to lure her into doing as he wanted by using her ego.

"_I does not matter," _Ziva told him. _"I won't go."_

"_You do as I say, Officer David." _Eli said, using her title.

"_Tony needs me," _Ziva tried. She was desperate not to be a part of Ari's mission. Though she loved her brother; she didn't want to. Eli had told her she could work at the Embassy until she came back to Israel, and there's no mission in that agreement. _"He is on the mend, but he's still weak and he needs me."_

Eli chuckled darkly. _"From what I have seen, Agent DiNozzo is doing just fine. Besides he has others who can take care of him, like the goth, what's her name? Abigail Scuito? And the lovely Caitlin Todd."_ He said it in a way indicating there's something more going on between last mentioned and Tony.

Ziva felt a strong urge to tell her father to shut up or go to hell, but she knew more bad than good would come out of it.

Tony had understood Abby and Kate's names from what Eli had said, and his curiosity was soon taking over. What were they talking about? Ziva seemed extremely upset, something that wasn't common for her because she always hid her feelings, and Eli wore a vicious grin which could give anyone goosebumps.

"What's going on?" Tony asked impatience. "What're you talking about?"

Neither Ziva nor Eli gave him an answer. Ziva kept staring at her father's face with an expression like the ones she got when she threatened to kill someone, and Eli stared back with a face giving away all the joy he felt when giving an order, hurting whoever got it. They both looked at each other in ways a father and his daughter never should, because no father or daughter should ever have that kind of relationship they had. Not even them.

"_It doesn't matter, I am not going to do it." _She already knew she'd lost the debate.

"_Officer David, you will do as I say, or I will personally make sure you don't get to see your boyfriend without leaving this world. And you are going, that's an order. End of discussion. I will have Ari send you the information," _he switched to English."Take care, both of you. Shalom."

They didn't get a chance to say goodbye, but neither of them cared.

As they walked out of MTAC, Ziva translated the 'conversation' from Hebrew. Tony's reaction was as she'd expected it to be. He was, of course, sad and frustrated that she had to leave, and angry because Eli David treated his daughter like a dog and forced her to doing this, when it was against her will. But he also thought "It is her job."

They walked down the stairs, but stopped by the bullpen. There's still three people in it, but instead of Gibbs – Abby was there. Neither of them had heard Tony and Ziva coming down, they were too focused on the plasma – watching what Tony and Ziva just had experienced.

"Any of you understanding what he's saying?" Abby asked the two others. They both shook their heads, but came with observations and suggestions.

"She seems mad," McGee said, an obvious observations for everyone with eyes or ears. One didn't need to understand Hebrew for knowing that. "Maybe he tells them to break up?"

Abby snorted. "McGee, Ziva's not fifteen! Her father doesn't decide who she dates."

"There's something about her brother," Kate stated. "And a mission, and probably some terrorists."

"Oh! Oh!" Abby squealed, jumping up and down. "Maybe they're planning their wedding but they have to wait for Ziva's brother to come home from a mission but Ziva's mad because her father sent her brother out on another mission and he knows they don't have that long 'til their wedding and they can't change the number of guests and they don't wanna either 'cause Ziva loves her brother do you think she has any other siblings in Mossad let's pull up her file!" All this was said in one breath. Tony, McGee and Kate were used this, but Ziva was amazed how much Abby could say without taking a pause to breathe.

She looked over at Tony and met his gaze. It was filled with amusement and hopefully it reflected her gaze.

"Ziva David, born November '82, two siblings; an older half-brother; Ari Haswari, and a little sister; Talia David."

"Is Talia in Mossad, too?" Abby asked curious.

Ziva decided to step in. "No, she's not."

The three in the bullpen jumped and spun around facing Tony and Ziva. They were both smirking, probably by their reactions.

"How long have you been standing there?" Abby wondered.

"Long enough to see McGee's breaking some rules," Tony chuckled. "And to see none of you know Hebrew."

"So?" Abby's eyes were circle formed and glittered with trapped excitement.

"So, what?" Both Tony and Ziva questioned.

"Are you planning your wedding and angry 'cause Director David sent your brother out on a new mission?" She wouldn't sit still, and Tony wondered how many Caf-Pows she'd consumed today.

"No," Ziva said, almost sounding disappointed herself. "Sorry, Abby."

* * *

><p>"When's he coming?" Tony asked, slightly bitter but determined not to take his anger out on his brother-in-law. After all – it wasn't his fault.<p>

She hesitated before answering. " … In two days." She finally said. In 48 hours she would've left to kill terrorists instead of being home with the one she loved. She had made peace with the order, Tony's right – it was her job. It was what she'd been trained to do all her life. And what she'd wanted to do, that's why she'd volunteered to join Mossad.

To get her mind over at other things, Tony changed to subject.

"Do you remember our first date?" he asked her, recalling the night after her brother's wedding and smiled by the memory.

"Are you counting the wedding as a date?" Ziva wondered.

"No," Tony stated. "I had a date that day, at least before I met you. And I guess you being a bridesmaid and everything means you had a date?"

"I did," She agreed, thinking back at the wasted Samuel spilling his wine over Tony's shirt. "So you mean after the wedding when we snuck into the Botanic Garden and almost got caught?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

* * *

><p>"<em>Tony, we should not be here." Ziva watched him climb over the fence. She was already on the other side which was technically a part of Royal Botanic Garden.<em>

"_C'mon, Ziva, I'll be fun!" Her lips curled up in a beautiful smile by the sound of the nickname he'd given her, and when he leaned closer to kiss her – she could feel a tingling feeling in her stomach. He grabbed her hand and they started walking through the garden in the moonlight._

"_It is so beautiful!" Ziva exclaimed. Usually she wasn't the girly-type using the word 'beautiful' when it came to flowers and the moon, but tonight was an exception._

"_Been here before?" Tony asked, looking over at the part of her face visible in the moonlight._

"_Never," She admitted, turning against him. "Tell me something about yourself."_

_He frowned, trying to remember something relevant. "Well, I work at N –"_

_She cut him off. "No, not something serious and relevant. Something irrelevant, something not serious. Like your favorite place in the world, or places you would like to visit. Or the strangest girl you have ever dated."_

"_Okay," he sent her a big grin which his friends called a DiNozzo-grin, because no matter how hard they tried – they never seems to be able to pull it off like him. "A place I would like to visit, hm … I'd have to say Fiji. I don't know where my favorite place in would is, and the strangest girl I've ever dated, hm … one in collage. She gave me t-shirt, pillows, stuffed animals, coffee cups and jackets all with 'I love Aubrianna' on them. And after the one time we slept together, she insisted we'd to get married or else we would spend an eternity in hell. Those are her words, not mine."_

_Ziva burst out in laughter, and Tony couldn't do anything but listen to the wonderful sound. "Hey, don't laugh!" He said, not really wanting her to stop._

"_I – I am sorry, Tony," she stuttered between laughing. "But that is funny!"_

"_I guess," he shrugged. "Now, your turn."_

_This stopped her laughter, and she tilted her head in order to get a better view of him. "What do you want to know?"_

"_Hm ..." Tony looked around for something that could help him, but nothing called out. Then his gaze was drawn to Ziva, and he smirked. "Worst breaking of rules you've ever done, your first fight and your first time."_

"_First time?" Ziva looked confused at Tony, but his smirk answered her question. "Oh, okay, worst breaking of rules was when I was fifteen. Ari and I broke into our father's liquor cabinet and weapon closet and stole alcohol and weapons. We kept the weapons for ourselves and 'played' with them, but shared the alcohol with our closest friends. Our father found out eventually after one of my classmates was sent home because he was hangover. After that – we were forced to work out six hours a day."_

_She laughed by the memory. "I had my first fight when I was eight. Shmuel Rubenstein. One punch and it was over."_

"_Whoa, what did poor Shmuel do to deserve the wrath of Ziva?" Tony bet the boy had pulled Ziva's hair or something, so her answer surprised him._

"_He said he liked me. So … my first time, you want details or age and location?" She'd a teasingly smile, and he swallowed hard._

"_Age and location will be fine." She continued smiling to him and spoke again._

"_Sixteen, in a weapons carrier." His mouth was an 'O' and quickly formed 'nice'. She wasn't suppose to see it, but she did._

"_Look at the stars," Tony said all of a sudden. They lay down in the grass, their hands merged together and looked up at the clear stars. "Think they're looking down at us, like we're looking up them?"_

"_Maybe," she never really thought about it, and she knew it was impossible, but hey; everyone could believe in what they wanted. "I like to think about stars as our loved ones, who is no longer with us, watching over us and making sure we do not get lost."_

"_You lost anyone you loved?"_

_She sighed. "My mother and sister," she replied, "they were killed in a suicide bombing a couple of months ago."_

_Tony raised his upper body and looked over at her. "Ziva, I'm so sorry." She too raised and supported herself with her elbow._

"_Don't be, it was not your fault, Tony." He traced a finger down her face, and let it fall to the ground._

"_My mom died when I was ten. After her death, my dad sent me off to boarding school, summer camps – half the time, I didn't know where he was."_

"_That is awful, Tony!" He nodded, giving her a sad smile._

_They lay like this, talking about their families and lives, and adventures they wanted to experience. Nothing serious like work and tomorrow, but things making them happy._

"_You ready to go?" he asked her after a while. She agreed and they rose from the grass._

"_Willing to see who comes first?" She asked playfully._

"_Sure," he agreed, but as the words crossed his lips she ran off. "Hey! That's cheating!" He shouted and sprinted after her._

"_No, it is not!" She shouted back. "You agreed, and then we were suppose to start!"_

"_Says who?" He yelled, still trying to keep up with her._

"_Say I!" She laughed and shouted. She's so happy she'd left her high heels back in Ari's house._

"_Hello?" The light in one of the greenhouses was turned on, and a second late; the silhouette of a man with a flashlight became clear to them. The normal thing to do was continue running, but both Tony and Ziva froze. They saw the flashlight's light come closer, and it triggered some reaction in both of them causing them to run even faster as before._

"_Quick!" Tony whispered, letting Ziva climb over the fence first. Once she'd gotten over, he did the same. They continued running until they got back to Ari's house and the reception, except it was all empty. "Looks like everyone left," Tony said, a statement to their observations. "I guess the party got too boring without us."_

_Ziva laughed and slapped him playfully on his chest. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so much in one night, or had so much fun. Tony followed her to the door step, and she pulled out a key from her dress._

"_Whoa, where did you have that?" Tony pointed towards the key._

"_In the gun holster." Ziva answered simply. Tony stared at her for a long time, trying to figure out why she brought a gun to a wedding and where she'd hid it. Ziva was like none other he'd ever met. She was special, unique, wonderful. She wasn't like other girls, who worried about their dress or make-up getting ruined, or too mature to have any fun._

_She was funny, willing to take chances and willing to have fun (even if it meant she had to leave her shoes behind). She didn't care about the tiny piece of grass in her hair, or the tiny rift in her dress from when she climbed over the fence. She made him look at the world differently; with her thoughts about stars being loved ones, her language mistakes and the way she seems so innocent and guilty on the same time._

_It was in that moment he decided he's going to marry Ziva David one day, no matter what._

"_Thank you for tonight, Tony, I had so much fun!" She squeezed his hand lightly and smiled._

"_Me too," he pulled her close, and their lips met in a kiss more passionate than before. As they pulled apart, which neither of them really wanted to, he caressed her face. "Goodnight, Ziva." he whispered, and planted a final kiss on her perfect lips._

"_Leila tov, Tony." She replied, whispering. She looked into his emerald green eyes, and he into her chocolate brown ones. Neither wanted to be separate from one another, but the time had come._

"_I guess I'll see you later." He didn't want to leave, but he had to. Luke would be expecting him back at the hotel, and Ziva had to go in to her brother's house._

"_I guess." Tony started walking, and Ziva unlocked the front door. The house was quiet, and suddenly she remembered she was all alone. Ari and Alyssa had left for a foreign country she didn't remember, the others had gone back to the hotel. A thought struck her, and for a second she wondered why she hadn't thought about it before._

"_Tony!" she called. For a moment nobody replied, but then she heard his steps return._

"_Yeah?" She waited until he was facing her again, and then she smiled a smile that lit up her whole face._

"_Would you like to come inside?"_

_Tony thought for less than a second. Screw Luke, he'd left Tony 'worried' more than one time, and Tony had a cell if an emergency would occur._

_"Yeah, I'd like that."_

* * *

><p>In present time, Ziva laid in Tony's arms, thinking about this particular night. Neither of them knew the other person that well, but still – they'd acted like they'd been head over heels in love with each other. And maybe they had.<p>

She looked out the window, seeing the moon arrive from behind a cloud. She smiled from the memory of Tony in the moonlight in the garden, and the memory from what they'd shared outside and inside Ari's house.

Ziva wriggled closer to Tony and rested her head on his chest. She listened to the sound of his heartbeat and breath, and it calmed her. Leaving wouldn't be that bad after all, because Tony would be waiting for her when she returned. Maybe they could take a trip to Fiji where he'd always wanted to go, and nobody could disturb their vacation. It would just be the two of them.

She closed her eyes in order to trying to get some sleep. She would wake up in about seven hours, ready to spend the her last day for God-knows-how-long with Tony. Perhaps it would be the last time she ever saw him.

"I love you, Anthony DiNozzo." She closed her eyes and slipped into a light sleep. The last thing she heard was Tony telling her what she wanted and needed to hear.

"I love you too, Ziva David."

* * *

><p><strong>I know I probably don't deserve it, but it would really mean a lot to me if you left a review and told me what you thought … :)<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Yeah. Nope, it's not mine.**

I suck royally; apology at the end. Next chapter up on Tuesday.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews I have received! And everyone who favored, alerted or just read this story – thank you! It truly means the world to me.

Note that even though I take advantage of the idea of it in this chapter, I'm not a fan of Tim and Kate as a couple, and it won't happen here. Now, on to the story!

* * *

><p>Chapter 6<p>

"You see, Probie, girls _love_ computer geeks. Big brain, small muscles, and glasses – it's a total turn on,"

McGee and Tony exited the elevator as the doors slid open, and continued towards the bullpen in full conversation.

"Abby told me all about it last night – and don't look so shocked, of course we talk about you. Anyways, it's all 'cause of the rise of social networks and computers and stuff. Apparently everyone wants their own billionaire husband." Tony shrugged, and turned to McGee's doubting face.

"You're just making that up," the other agent scoffed, and passed him. Tony caught ahold of McGee's backpack and pulled him back.

"Now, _why _would I do that, Timmy?" He grinned, let go of the backpack, and noticed Kate as he arrived at his desk.

"Maybe because you're a child?" she supplied, a satisfied smirk playing on her lips. Once again, Tony turned to McGee – who was busy organizing his own desk and ignoring the bickering, though a faint smile was to be seen – and raised his voice, unnecessarily.

"As I was saying, Probie, Abby told me this geek-freak especially affects a certain female NCIS agent. You might've heard of her – a Caitlin?" At this, he cocked his head in Kate's direction and ignored the eye rolling he knew was happening. "Allegedly, this agent spilled the beans at a bar one lovely evening, after one too many drinks, about how she wanted to "do" one Very Special Agent Timothy McGee."

He raised an eyebrow at Kate and sent her a knowing smirk, while her face grew paler by the minute. At seeing this, it had the opposite effect on McGee who turned a deep shade of pink. "What, they didn't teach you how to lie at your Catholic girl school?"

"You're taking that way out of proportion! First of all, what I do on my personal time is none of your business, DiNozzo. And second, I told Abby she should hook up with McGee again – only for sex, if nothing else, and I gave reasons."

Upon hearing this development, McGee's ears went bright red while the rest of his face continued to pursuit the mild nuance of hot pink. "I have to go and do…something," he stuttered and maneuvered out from behind the desk.

"Probie – stay!" Tony commanded, and McGee sat down, trying to stay clear of meeting Kate's glace. "Whatever you say, Todd. Abby told me some pretty detailed stuff – don't think she needed that much persuasion to begin with. Speaking of, in a certain position, how exactly does one lick someone's–"

Kate sprang up. "DiNozzo!"

Tony winked at her, before turning to the third agent in the room. "Congrats, she totally wants you, Probie."

"I stand corrected," Kate interrupted with an edge to her voice. "You're not a child, you're a childish jerk."

"Keeps me young," Tony shrugged. He finally sat down, turned on his computer and checked his messages.

"It's not the only thing," McGee whispered under his breath, finally looking up. "Speaking of, how is your girlfriend, Tony?"

"My girlfriend is fine, McGee, thank you for caring."

He turned to the computer, silent for a moment while checking both his mail and the newsfeed. Nothing new on either fronts, unless he considered the increased amount of non-stop rain which the spring had decided to bring upon DC this year. Tony didn't. He settled further at his desk, leaned back, and smirked at Kate, the memories of their dispute still fresh in his mind. She saw the smirk, and took the bait.

"He doesn't," she declared. "It's called sarcasm, DiNozzo."

The color of McGee's earlier awkwardness returned in a softer scale, this time only coloring his ears pink. Tony chuckled, as much of the younger agent's discomfort as Kate's remark.

"I didn't notice," he deadpanned. "Thank you, Special Agent Obvious, for bringing that piece of information to light."

"Well, someone's got to," Gibbs supplied, storming into the bullpen, coffee in his hand. "Dead Naval officer at the USS Enterprise; grab your gear, and an umbrella."

It wasn't until they were settled at the flight deck Tony began to realize he was more a person of sun, than rain. The pouring water never seemed to stop for a break, Gibbs was already pissed off – shouting commandoes all over the place, and the team's motivation towards finding the killer was sincerely influenced by their frustration towards the deceased officer who had the audacity to be murdered out on the flight deck with weather like this raging. The evidence was non-existing, flushed into the surrounding water at the port due to the already flooded deck.

Yes, he definitely favored the sun. The rain was too cold, wet and raw – with ties to the freezing Atlantic that swallowed more than fifteen-hundred people in 1912, drowning in general, tsunamis, sharks, typical movie clichés, and Ziva.

Ziva adored the rain – her words, not his. She loved everything about it; the smell, the sensation, the differences types depending on the weather – everything. It was one of the things she could sit and explain to him for hours, and he would be completely mesmerized by her ability to gather her feelings into so many words, her more than unusual behavior explaining her apparently very strong feelings towards a natural phenomenon, but most of all her beauty, her passion and her complexity; a fearless, lethal ninja with a soft heart. And when she was finished, neither would speak, and they would sit and stare into each other's eyes, hands intertwined, completely captivated in each other, finding an understanding and love neither had seen before.

When the moment was over, he would lean over and whisper the only phrase he knew in Hebrew, and she would send him one of her most happy and loving smiles, and reply.

* * *

><p><em>It had been a hot June in DC this year. The sun had been shining nonstop for the past three weeks or so, and the temperature was lingering around thirty-nine degrees Celsius. The blonde meteorologist at the local news channel was speaking about record heat and danger of both dehydrating and wildfires daily, warning everyone to be both careful and responsible. She danced across the screen, showing the map of DC in-between pictures of people at the beach, laughing children and bonfires. Tony doubted any of the male population was actually paying attention to the blonde's warnings and words of wisdom, but rather her low cut, a bit too revealing, white blouse that left little to the imagination. Not that he complained, not at all.<em>

_It had been two weeks since his spontaneous trip to Scotland with his buddy Luke, one of the friends he was currently on his way to meet in the park for a day in the sunny weather. The aftermath of the wedding had had an oddly comforting effect on Tony. He and Ziva had gone out once after that one evening and later parted on good terms –_

"_If you ever happen to be in Tel Aviv, call me." He met her soft, brown eyes, and it was not sadness she looked up on him with – well, a little sadness hid behind her pupils – but happiness and something he couldn't determine. _

_His hand caressed her cheek, and he sent her a blinding smile. "Likewise. And you don't even have to be in DC, any American soil's game."_

_She chuckled, drew away, and gathered her luggage, preparing to check in. For a moment she stopped and turned to look at him once more. "It was actually nice meeting you, Tony."_

"_Yeah, you too. I kinda hadn't expected it, you know with Becka and all, but when life gives you lemons, you just have to make lemonade." She chuckled once again, but then her brows furrowed and he shook it away._

_She stepped closer, already forgotten about the crowd and line and her luggage, and her hand traced along his arm; towards his shoulders and to his face. Then she smiled, a carefree and big smile, and planted a soft kiss on his right cheek. Her lips lingered a bit at the touch, before she cut the contact and put some distance between them._

"_Goodbye, Anthony DiNozzo,"_

_He caught her hand and pulled her back carefully. Their lips connected, a feeling Tony knew he would miss. The kiss turned into a series of soft and little too hungry ones, and when Ziva pulled away – probably for the best – he was once again reminded of their current surroundings. She didn't move, and with their foreheads resting together, they delayed the moment they both knew would come too soon. Ziva took a deep breath and whispered something in Hebrew. However, the fact that he didn't understood it was quickly overshadowed by the melodious sound of her words._

"_Have a nice life, Tony," she whispered sadly and drew her head away from his. She staggered backwards, visibly refraining herself from staying a while longer. Her words bore a possibility of truth as their homes were approximately thirteen hours apart, and for a second he was struck by the revelation of how big the world really was, and how small they were._

"_Goodbye, Ziva David," he whispered in return as she retrieved her things and disappeared into the crowd. He stood there for a moment, before he turned and headed off to find Luke and their luggage. Neither of them turned to look back._

_He hadn't spoken to her since that day at the airport. Surely he had her number, but he was nowhere near Israel, and despite his earlier feelings about her being one of the most unique women he'd ever met and wanting something more with her, he kept coming back to the facts and using them as excuses; she lived twelve hours by plane away, they had _just _met, she had told him to have a nice life – not in a spiteful way, but as a wish. Nevertheless, the chances of he ever seeing Ziva again were close to zero, and why embark upon something potentially precious if he could not follow through._

_He arrived at the park later than initially planned. Gibbs had given him the day off – his judgment probably influenced by the increasing heat and lack of air-conditioning, Tony figured – and he'd taken his friends' offer to grill in the park. He had asked Abby to go with him, the forensic scientist and his newfound friend in the building, but the Goth had declined, already having her own park plans with her bowling friends, the nuns._

"_Tony's here!"_

_Across the lawn, under a large deciduous tree sat a small group of people; Luke and his girlfriend Michelle, whose voice had announced Tony's arrival, Jared and his wife, Laurel, the couple Claire and Josh, and a younger boy Tony hadn't seen before. Most of them had some sort of ties to law enforcement; Luke, and Laurel were from Baltimore PD, Jared was an FBI agent, and Josh was a lawyer. Luke's girlfriend, Michelle, worked as a pre-school teacher, and Claire was a nurse, but was currently staying at home with the couple's four-month-old son, Harry._

_They had already begun grilling, which suited Tony perfectly. He was starving. "Tony, I want you to meet my nephew, Andrew," Claire introduced, stretching over to give Tony a hug when her time came. He greeted her nephew before taking a closer look._

"_Aren't you a little too young to have a teenage nephew?" he asked. "Looking great, by the way. How's the baby?"_

_Claire squealed in delight, and turned to smack Josh's shoulder. "I told you!" When she returned to Tony, a triumphant smile was plastered across her face. "My sister's like fifteen years–"_

"_Thirteen," Andrew intertwined._

"–_thirteen years older than me," Claire corrected, and playfully stuck out her tongue at her nephew. "Baby Harry's great, thank you. He's at that age where he finally sleeps through the night–"_

"_And puts everything in his mouth," Josh remarked._

"_And pulls everything," Michelle added quickly, pulling herself out of a conversation with Laurel and Jared. She shook her long, sandy brown hair, and Tony figured her statement came from experience._

"_Lovely age," Tony concluded, and Claire sighed._

_They caught up with each other, the old song of "How's it going", "What's new", and etcetera, and Tony suddenly realized how long it'd been since he'd seen the majority of the group. Ever since he started working for Gibbs, his personal time had started to suffer, painfully, and though it didn't bother him at work, the full extinctions of the new job and the long hours now caught up with him. He missed Baltimore; the familiarity of the environment, the people, the work. But NCIS was a great opportunity, and truth be told, he figured he would benefit from it in the future._

"_How was Scotland?" Jared asked Luke as they embarked upon the food. Luke took his fair time chewing and swallowing, and arching an eyebrow at Tony before replying. _

"_My weekend was… very relaxing; that big hotel room all to myself. Frankly, I don't remember seeing my roomie that much," he stopped for a moment and stared into the blank, buried in thoughts. "Hey, DiNozzo, where you even at the plane? Oh, yes, I remember rambling about some game but you didn't pay attention."_

"_Ah, you met someone," Josh concluded, and gave him a pat on the back. "Good for you."_

"_A _couple _of some ones–"_

"_Hey, only two," Tony corrected._

"_Like I said," Luke continued. "A couple of some ones. This first girl, Becka, she was crazy. And then, this other girl while attending a wedding with Becka. Don't think she was crazy, but DiNozzo wouldn't say a peep. Think she's foreign."_

_Tony chuckled of Luke's description of foreign, considering the fact they'd been in a foreign country, but did not interact. No, he hadn't told Luke about Ziva. He'd seen her once, not knowing who she was, but not much more than that. Somehow sharing her with the world would confuse the picture he already had of her, of them, he thought. To say the words out loud would make them more real, more final, and no matter how smitten he might have become with her during that weekend, a part of him still wasn't ready to let go yet. And if nothing more, she would just be his memory; his one tale of how powerless humans were, and how sometimes it wasn't meant to be._

"_So, Andrew," he said, a distraction from his own adventures, and snapped the oval, reddish ball from Jared's hands. "What's your take on football?"_

_The game came to a rapid end when gray clouds from apparently nowhere at all, started occupying the sky and opening up. Heavy water rained over them, a few days overdue, in Tony's opinion, but the alternate weather was a welcomed variety on his part. While the others packed up, Claire and Andrew were still playing, and in an attempt to throw the ball to his aunt, Andrew managed to miss the petite blonde by countless meters. It bounced twice and as they thought it would stop, it bounced again and disappeared behind some trees on the other side._

_Tony took it upon himself to retrieve the piece of equipment and jogged after it, raindrops pouring down his face. It had bounced further than expected, to Tony's continuing dissatisfaction, and when he finally found it, the rain had escalated to the point where his visible skin got red and numb from the contact. _

_And when he thought it couldn't get much worse, his phone rang. The sudden noise made him jump, and both annoyed and rushed he lost the device on the wet grass. Swearing under his breath, he hoped Gibbs had a good excuse for calling. A new body simply did not suffice. _

"_Don't you just adore the rain?" _

_Tony's brows furrowed. That was definitely not Gibbs, and in the attempt to identify the voice, he forgot all about the ball and the mentioned rain._

"_Ziva?"_

_He could almost hear the sound of her laugh – actually he _could _hear her laughing._

"_I almost thought you had forgotten about me,"_

_There was a certain echo to her words, as if they were said twice, or as if she were… here. On a hunch he spun around, slowly. He swallowed hard and took a look around, unable to keep his mind from wishing. No-one was there, not a soul. The rain blurred his vision and he shook his head, afraid he had missed her._

"_That would have been a bit too… cliché," she said through the phone, as if she knew exactly what he'd just been doing. The line went dead, and Tony was left more confused than he'd been earlier._

"_Where are you?" The whisper of a question was useless, rhetorical, and more a whisper of longing, than a question to be answered. Ziva wasn't here, that much was obvious. She'd called him for unknown reasons, perhaps merely to taunt him – but she wasn't here._

_Or at least Tony thought so until she stepped out from behind a tree, the phone in her hand, shining eyes and a soaked, white summer dress. Her curls were pulled into a ponytail, and her face broke into a full-blown smile when she registered that he'd seen her._

_They met in the middle, Tony more confused, but in a good way. Explanations, well, words in general were lost as their lips connected in a mix of a kiss and a grin. Excitement filled his entire being, and he put his hands around her waist, lifted her up and spun involuntary. She let out a girlish giggle, and Tony swore it was the cutest thing he'd ever heard. As they both came down to earth and broke off to come up for air, Tony realized how incredible cheesy and cliché it all was, but didn't care. _

_He took a deep breath and put his brain into the process of remembering the phrase he'd looked up, the words Ziva had told him at the airport._

"_Ani mechabev otach," The words came jagged and stuttering, and with completely wrong pronunciation, but she understood. Her smile grew wider, and she planted a light kiss on his lips. They were both soaked, but the temperature was still up, and neither of them really cared. He met her eyes, and once again he saw the indeterminable look she had given him two weeks earlier._

"_I sort of like you too," she said, and suddenly he had an emotion to the look; a description of her feelings – feelings that matched his own._

_Affection._

* * *

><p>He was cold to the bone, wet and grumpy. The warm water from the shower drove away most of the numbness in his fingers and toes brought on by the long exposure of water and wind, and instead left them stinging and prickly – an unfortunate effect of the too hot water.<p>

After five hours of nothing, Gibbs had ordered them back to the Navy yard – declared defeat, in Tony's opinion – and had had Abby run a huge amount of pointless tests. Considering the lack of evidence, lack of witnesses, lack of – hell – anything, their chances of closing this case were small. Then again, his experience with small chances was pretty good, and he hadn't given up. Yet, anyways.

His thoughts of Ziva resurfaced. They'd been apart longer than this before – almost two months, the last time – and though he had accepted their relationship to be like this, it didn't make him miss her any less. But they had agreed that they wanted _something_, and apparently this was what _something _looked like.

He exited the bathroom and made his way to the kitchen in order to prepare something for dinner. He had barely begun when a sharp noise announced an incoming call. _McGee_.

"Yeah?"

"Tony, Abby got the results of the tox screen," the younger agent informed him.

"You're not still at the Navy yard, right, McGee?"

"No, no, Abby just told me," Tony smirked, and McGee seemed to realize what he had said. "She called, Tony."

He snorted and McGee sighed in defeat. "Gibbs said he wants us to re-interview the crew tomorrow."

"McGee, it's almost–" he checked the watch; 2147. "–2200, why can't this wait?"

"Oh, it can, but Kate said…"

"_Kate _said?" Tony chuckled. "Call Todd, Tim. Go out, get drunk, have sex. You don't wanna miss the stuff Abby told me, _trust _me."

He wasn't exactly sure why he advised McGee to hook up with Kate. They weren't a match, but still there was something funny about how much they both disapproved of the thought.

"Bye, Timmy."

The sound of three quick knocks came the same second the line went dead. Tony sincerely hoped it wasn't McGee, at the same time he had the feeling it was. He approached the door slowly, and took a deep breath.

"McGee, I swear–"

The initial shock left his brain with the only impression that it wasn't McGee. Tim didn't have tangled, dark curls or brown eyes, and he definitely wasn't Ziva. When he recovered, Tony examined her further and noticed the only form of luggage she carried; a green back pack. She wore a pair of cargo pants and a white tank top – he loved that tank top – and her curls were drawn back by a hairband. And she was absolutely soaked by the weather outside.

But what shocked Tony the most wasn't the sole fact that Ziva was actually standing outside his door. What caught his attention was her face; a cracked lip, several cuts, a bruise under her left eye, and a few red-like marks on her unusually pale skin.

She opened her mouth, swallowed, closed it again and looked at him. The process was repeated twice, until she took a deep breath, lips parted and ready.

"Tony…" she whispered, took another deep breath, and passed out.

* * *

><p>Dear readers, I need to apologize. I am so profoundly sorry for the long time it has taken me to update this story. I promised it wouldn't be long, but clearly it has. I will not give you any excuses, just know that every time I thought of this story I got sick to my stomach with guilt. I know it was unfair to all of you, and for that I apologize. I hope you forgive me. And thank you for sticking with me, I love you. The end… :)<p>

(**Note:** I do not speak Hebrew, and I got the phrase I used from a quick Google-search. Sorry, if it is wrong).

**Any thoughts?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: This? Nope, still not mine.**

Well, it's Tuesday!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read, review, alert or favor the last chapter. You are truly amazing!

* * *

><p>Chapter 7<p>

He brought her to the hospital – what else was he supposed to do? To say she wasn't thrilled about it, was an understatement; she was pissed and harshly told him to wait outside her room while the doctor was in. She was released two hours later with a clean bill of health – according to herself. The doctor said exhaustion, and he could almost see as she refrained from rolling her eyes.

"Ziva–" he tried as they entered the apartment. He couldn't quite wrap his head around what had just happened; in one moment he'd told McGee to sleep with Kate, and in the next moment Ziva was passing out.

Ziva didn't pass out. Again, her words – not his. She didn't cry, either. If something hurt, she might wince for a second, but she never cried nor complained. She didn't express herself a lot either; she wouldn't tell if something hurt, or if something were wrong. She would hide behind her stone face, which was astonishingly similar to her impassive face – her normal face.

She hadn't told him this – he wasn't even sure if she were even aware of it – but he'd learned it through observation. He had seen how reserved she was about her relationship with her family; towards the deaths of her mother and sister, and the father who'd trained her to make a living out of killing. With Ari, however, it was different. She looked up to him, respected him – in other ways than she'd been taught to respect their father – and even though they certainly had their differences – they were, after all, siblings – she loved him.

"Don't," she cut off warningly. Her exhaustion, her appearance, her little trip – they weren't up for discussion. She absentmindedly scratched her arm where they'd drawn blood, and Tony caught her hand before she could let it fall. He pulled her into an embrace, despite the fact that she resisted.

"Don't shut me out,"

They stood like this for a while; his arms around her small frame, her arms hanging slackly down, her face buried in his chest, and his chin resting on top of her head. Their breathing synchronized; uninterrupted deep breaths. And then Ziva took the final breath and unlocked herself from his arms. She looked up at him with wet eyes, blinked fast and brushed past him and into the bathroom. The distant sound of the shower came an hour later.

When he came home from work the next afternoon, she was on the phone while watching the news. The hushed sounds of her native language no longer seemed foreign and rapid, but rather something he had come to appreciate through the years; something familiar, something _Ziva_. Surely he did not understand a word, but the presence of Hebrew carried a promise of the presence of Ziva. And though he didn't quite understand Ziva either, he was – without doubt – extremely fond of her.

He'd offered to stay home for the day. Gibbs wouldn't be happy, but he would understand to a certain degree. "I am fine, Tony," she said in a haze. He knew well she wasn't "fine", and the fact that she was still asleep at 0800 was further evidence to that thesis. Not that he minded this new sleeping habit of her – he loved every version of Ziva, but this wasn't the one he knew.

* * *

><p>"<em>Ziva, alarm!" <em>

_Tony groaned sleepily, and turned around as an attempt to escape the roaring noise. When that didn't work, he removed the pillow from under his head and placed it on top of it instead. Only seconds later he felt movements – which were not caused by him – in the bed and the ringing alarm stopped._

"_Trying to get rid of me?" a very much awake Ziva teased before jumping out. She entered the bathroom, and he heard the door shut._

"_I don't get it," he confessed. "Why shower before you go for a run? It's like brushing your teeth before you eat breakfast – a waste of time." _

_It truly did not make any sense to him. Why would she shower before she went for her usual run in the morning when she was to shower at the time she got back anyway?_

"_You see, To-nee," she explained, in a similar tone as when trying to explain to a child why turning a bowl of cereal upside-down is not a good idea. "When you run, you meet handsome _men_, and then you want to both look and smell good," The sound of the running water continued until she added a piece to that statement. "And the occasional woman."_

_He moaned, and smiled shamelessly before falling back into a light slumber. After what felt like seconds later, something wet and cold dripped into his face, and his eyes shot up in shock._

"_Ziva!" _

_She laughed and removed her dripping hair._

"_It's like–" he checked his watch as quick as possible, and groaned at the result. "Jesus, Ziva, it's like five AM!"_

"_Tony, I can assure you; Jesus is not here,"_

_He muttered something incomprehensible in return, buried his head in the pillow, and missed the smirk she was sent his way._

"_I will make it up to you, yes?" she proposed seductively._

_Something wet touched his ear, and it took him a second to realize she'd licked it. He groaned again, this woman was killing him – and he enjoyed every second of it._

* * *

><p>She finished off her conversation and joined him in the kitchen. He'd been to the grocery store and brought home some vegetables and chicken, which he now started to slice and dice.<p>

"How's Ari?" he guessed, correctly by her facial expression. He washed a red bell pepper, and she handed him a carving board and a knife.

"Good. Both of them are." She watched as he sliced the fruit into sticks. "How was work?"

"Fine," he said, recalling his day. "Closed a case – the captain did it. But the murder weapon was flushed overboard, so Gibbs made him fess up."

He watched as she nodded absentmindedly, and offered her the knife. She agreed. Somehow, knives always calmed her.

"And how are you?"

"Tony," She stopped cutting and sent him a look.

"Ziva." His look wasn't even a shadow of hers on a good day, which this clearly wasn't.

"I'm _fine_," she bit out, extra emphasize on fine, and put a bit more pressure on the knife than needed. He already regretted giving it to her.

"Ziva–"

"I said I'm fine!" The knife hit the carving board audibly, and she turned to face him. Her face had a feverish look, and her cheeks were flushed. "What do you want from me?" There was a clear edge to her words, and her whole being radiated with anger and resignation, her eyes wide open and filled with what he believed to be hurt.

"Ziva," he took a step forwards; she took a step back. Her hands shot up in front of her chest, her palms towards him, telling him to stay clear and not touch her.

"Don't," He would have applauded her on the use of contractions if it weren't for the current situation. "What do you want from me, Tony?" she repeated. The anger had vanished; only the resignation was left, heavier than last time.

"Talk to me," he whispered; a plea. "Let me in."

A weary expression covered her bruised face, and she turned to counter for support. She drew her breath; once, twice, closed her eyes, and turned to him again. There was a pain in her eyes, a heart-breaking touch to her otherwise perfect features.

"I…" A small shook of her head, a painful look, a small quiver to her lips. "Cannot. Not yet."

He nodded; accepted that.

"You're bleeding," He pointed to her left hand. A few drops of blood were pouring from a cut on her middle finger. "I'll get you a band-aid."

"I can do it," she insisted, and left the room. She didn't come back.

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><p>There was something different about her – that much he could tell. Yeah, there was definitely something different about her. And she was not <em>fine<em>.

As she laid next to him in a supposedly light slumber that he knew wasn't real – she was literally not making any noise at all, as if she were deliberately lying as still as possible, waiting for him to fall asleep – he couldn't say why. She looked the same, apart from a few scrapes and bruises – "I walked into a door, Tony," – and a new shade of paleness to her tan skin, which really shouldn't be there as she just spent three weeks in the City of Angels. She even smelled the same, and wore a coat of clear nail polish – which was both uncharacteristic and weird. Didn't she spend the last few weeks killing and capturing alleged terrorists?

She acted differently too. Ziva had always been a reserved and meticulous, yet impulsive person, but she was usually so much different once one got to know her. But not now. Something had happened – something she was not telling him; something that changed her. Because this version of Ziva was not a Ziva he had met and dealt with before – he still loved her – though he has met other people like this. People who were hurting, just like her. But he had no idea how to help her.

"Sorry," she whispered out in the dark, confirming his suspicions. Her back faced his chest, but he was certain her eyes were wide open.

"Don't be," he supplied. "Whenever you are ready, we'll talk."

She turned to face him, and for a while they merely laid there, starting at each other. He tucked a curl that had escaped her braid behind her ear, and then he kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes while he, on the other hand, continued to admire her, to capture the picture of her in his mind, to appreciate this time they had together, because who knew when it would come to an end.

"You're not alone," he whispered; a promise that brought a tiny smile to her lips. It was the first he had seen it in a couple of weeks. He closed his own eyes and fell into a light slumber; a welcome break from the never-ending flow of thoughts, and with time the slumber turned into a dreamless sleep.

Still, he felt it as the warm body next to him made a move and vanished from the bed. The door to the intertwined bathroom was quickly opened and shut, but no light passed before his closed eyes. The sink got turned, and Tony quietly opened his eyes and sat up. Even through the loud, steady flow of the running water, he could hear the muffled sounds of her crying.

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><p><strong>I have no idea about how people feel about the direction this story is taking, so it'd be really helpful, as well as sweet, if you took a second and told me your opinion :)<strong>

I leave for Africa in exactly three and a half hours, and due to uncertainty about the internet connection there, I am unfortunately unable to say when the next chapter will be up.


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